Media Statement by Tony Pua in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 21^st April 2009:

Dr Syed Husin Ali's call for Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General to stop raising the issue of the failure by the top PKR leadership to inform him of the resignation of Mohamad Fairus as ADUN for Penanti state seat on 16 April 2009 is ill-advised and uncalled for

Dr Syed Husin Ali's should advise PKR Penang Chairman and MP for Bayan Baru Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim instead of Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, to listen to Dr Syed's advice to stop discussing the case of former Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1, Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin's resignation as the state assemblyman for the Penanti constituency in the media.

Datuk Zahrain's baseless attacks against Lim are ill-advised, irresponsible and politically motivated to help hide weaknesses in his leadership that caused so many problems in Penang PKR.

Lim had the right to express his disagreement with the failure by the national PKR leadership to inform him of the resignation of Mohamad Fairus as ADUN for Penanti state seat on 16 April 2009.

It is also ironical that while making the call for the DAP Secretary-General to stop speaking to the media on the issue, Dr Syed Husin Ali has himself chose to issue his statement to the media despite his claim that all matters have been resolved after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has spoken to Guan Eng.

What Datuk Seri Anwar had explained to Lim is totally different from that implied by Dr Syed. At no time did Datuk Seri Anwar say that Lim had no right to express his concerns when asked by the press. It would have been wiser and rational for Dr Syed and Datuk Zahrain leaders to check with Datuk Seri Anwar to understand what else more Datuk Seri Anwar had expressed to Lim.

The Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General does not intend to continue pursuing this matter in the media. But he had the right to express his concerns that he was informed by the press on 16 April 2009 and not by PKR on Mohamad Fairus' resignation letter dated 19 March 2009, when PKR had denied even two days before the resignation took effect on 16 April that there was such a resignation.

It must also be emphasized that Guan Eng and the DAP has shown a genuine spirit of camaraderie and co-operation in the entire episode since Mohammad Fairus first resigned as the Deputy Chief Minister 1, despite having to withstand strong criticisms for the several postponements by Datuk Seri Anwar with regards to the naming of a replacement Deputy Chief Minister.

However this gesture of goodwill by DAP is not reciprocated by some PKR leaders. Instead DAP regrets that Datuk Zahrain is behaving like a little UMNO leader with comments that do not reflect the multi-racial nature of PKR and its Malaysian spirit. Such irresponsible comments by him would rule him out as the possible PKR and PR candidate for the Penanti by-election.

* Tony Pua Kiam Wee, DAP National Publicity Secretary & MP for Petaling Jaya Utara